Around the World in 30 Weddings

ODO: 368809

Sometimes in our lives we have the privilege of meeting truly amazing people. It happens rarely, and usually the meeting is fleeting, but what makes these encounters truly memorable are the stories.

Every person has a story. Some are tragic, some are heroic, and some are beautiful. Every now and then we encounter one of these truly beautiful stories that gives us hope, lifts us up, or just makes us smile on an otherwise mundane day. We encountered one of these stories in the most unlikely of places, a campsite in Kenora, Ontario and we feel it's worth sharing. It’s a bit sappy, sometimes idyllic, but it’s real and that’s what makes it truly amazing.

We met Lisa and Alex as they were passing us on a trail, car battery in hand (an event we know all too well). We chatted and offered them a jump if the charge hadn’t been sufficient from the local Canadian Tire. Later that afternoon they came over to our campsite with beers in hand and we ended up spending the whole night with them in the summer air drinking, eating and getting to know each other. We found that they were Brits traveling Canada east to west living out of their van. It soon came out that this was only the first stint of their 2 year trip around the world. They mentioned they were doing a blog on their travels, but eluded that there was something more. They asked us what was the reason behind our travels and we said that we just wanted to get away and see the world before life set in. Their response, “we’re the opposite, life already set it and we’re leaving it behind,” had us intrigued. Then they delved into their story.

Alex and Lisa have known each other for 12 years, since they were 20 and 18 respectively. They had never gotten together because “they were too wild for anything serious to have worked,” Lisa divulged with a laugh. They had mutual friends and stayed in touch throughout these years, reconnecting at friends’ birthdays and random phone calls inviting the other out for drinks. They both experienced other relationships, engagements, marriage and divorce. When they were both free, Alex called Lisa up for a drink yet again and this time they realized they wanted to be together and she soon moved to Manchester to be with him. Alex asked Lisa one day, “have you ever wanted to go to Australia?” and the two started planning an around the world trip they had both been dreaming of for years. They sold everything they owned, including a business, house and everything possession within. Their trip is more than just an around the world trip though, more than the two of them leaving it all behind or some kind of crazy two year honeymoon. In fact, they aren’t even married….well not legally anyway. They are getting married 30 times in the next two years and blogging about the experience as they go. 30 vow exchanges, cutting of the cake and first dances. When they finish they will pick their favorite location, invite all the people they met along the way that made the journey possible and have their  “real” wedding there. This trip is a quest for the perfect place to get married. As Alex wrote in their blog, “I’m so excited about marrying her I wish I could do it again and again….so that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Their romance, spontaneity and genuineness was staggering and apparently we aren’t the only ones that feel this way. They have had a wedding dress, venues world wide, and accommodation as they travel donated to them. Newspapers, writers, and publishers have reached out to them wanting to tell their story, and honestly, we understand why. This story of love, of adventure, of finally getting it right is inspiring. So, for the next two years we will be following their blog as they profess their love for each other in every country they can get to. But why take my word for it? Check it out for yourself- 2people1life.com/blog